I am always looking for real-life analogues for children's scientific inquiry at the sensory table. In looking over my documentation lately, I found a video of a child walking with a pretty full tub of water around the sensory table. As he walked around the table, the water sloshed from side-to-side in his tub so he was forced to change his gate to minimize the spillage.
Water sloshing from Thomas Bedard on Vimeo.
So what does sloshing have to do with the moon landing? As it turns out, quite a bit. In 1969, Neil Armstrong set the lunar lander on the moon. In the course of landing on the moon, he was forced to maneuver the lunar lander with the propellant sloshing around. Because the propellant was dwindling, the sloshing was more pronounced and that made it more difficult to keep the lunar module steady. We all know he landed on the moon. However, because of all the sloshing, the space agency installed extra anti-sloshing baffles on subsequent missions. Anti-sloshing baffles; I never knew such things existed.
The amount of sloshing was unexpected. I would venture to guess that Neil Armstrong was able to handle the sloshing because as a child, he carried or transported water in containers that allowed for plenty of sloshing. In other words, he had an embodied knowledge of the physics of sloshing.
I contend that the child carrying the sloshing water was building that very same knowledge. I do not begin to presume to know how the child will use that knowledge. However, can you imagine how the parent would feel about what the child is learning when I make the analogy of his operations to those of Neil Armstrong. Instead of just seeing the child spilling water on the floor, the parent would appreciate how the child is learning about the physics of sloshing.
About Me
- Tom Bedard
- Early childhood education has been my life for over 40 years. I have taught all age groups from infants to 5-year-olds. I was a director for five years in the 1980s, but I returned to the classroom 22 years ago. My passion is watching the ways children explore and discover their world. In the classroom, everything starts with the reciprocal relationships between adults and children and between the children themselves. With that in mind, I plan and set up activities. But that is just the beginning. What actually happens is a flow that includes my efforts to invite, respond and support children's interface with those activities and with others in the room. Oh yeh, and along the way, the children change the activities to suit their own inventiveness and creativity. Now the processes become reciprocal with the children doing the inviting, responding and supporting. Young children are the best learners and teachers. I am truly fortunate to be a part of their journey.
What an incredible, direct connection you've made here Tom. I really like this notion of 'embodied knowledge', not just carrying water but literally carrying knowledge at the same time. Imagining a path from the classroom to the moon...
ReplyDeleteThanks Aaron. I really like how you have expressed both "literally caring knowledge" and "Imagining a path from the classroom to the moon." Those are great insights that I would like to borrow.
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